This application is a continuation of international application Ser. No. PCT/IL2003/000510, filed on Jun. 18, 2003, which in turn claimed priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/434,808, filed on Dec. 20, 2002.
The present invention relates to sliding doors that utilize roller assemblies to move back and forth within tracks. Such assemblies are well known in the prior art and have undergone various modifications in order to allow the doors to roll progressively more freely and efficiently.
Some of the problems encountered in the past with sliding door mechanisms include imperfections or other obstacles in the tracks, which cause the rolling doors to get stuck, become difficult to move or to be derailed from the track. A well-known solution to this problem is to construct spring based roller mechanisms, which allow the wheels to skip over obstacles or slight variations and guide the door freely through the track.
Another factor that affects the level of functionality of sliding door roller assemblies is the level of adjustability and ease of assembly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,363 describes a mechanism that is easy and inexpensive to construct, and includes an adjustment gear that is readily accessible to the user. U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,278 describes a similar device. The height of the mechanism can be adjusted according to the track after it has been installed.
Another roller assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,849, which discloses an assembly that can be installed without the help of special tools or a skilled worker. This assembly features tabs that are fixed on the sides of the roller housing in order to stabilize door movement.
The disadvantage of the assemblies as described above is that the installation of the rollers is complex and requires adjustment of the roller assembly to each sliding door type. The present invention offers a simple and affordable solution to this problem by incorporating an extra adjustable feature in order to enable the simple assembly of the roller device to any type of sliding door. This contributes to the ease of building constructions using sliding door mechanisms or replacing old parts when needed.
Further more, prior art sliding structures which are constructed as exterior part of the sliding door are fragile and may be unstable.
It is thus the prime object of the invention to avoid the limitations of the prior art and to provide a simple and stable sliding mechanism.